Justice

by Laurann Dohner

  “Jessie Dupree? Is she all right?”

  “She’s fine. We went to her home first but she wouldn’t let us search her house.”

  “She smells,” the other one cursed. “Like bad flowers.”

  “Perfume,” the other one growled. “You should make it a law that they don’t wear it here, Justice. My nose still burns.”

  Justice hid a smile over Jessie knowing that trick. Strong perfume irritated their noses and confused their sense of smell. She had worked for Tim Oberto on the task force and was bound to pick up Species facts from the team members who worked so closely with his males.

  “I’ll send her a memo.”

  Both men looked confused. “Maybe someone was watching a horror movie. Human females in those scream all the time. We’ll have to ask everyone if they were playing one of those to track the source of the disturbance.”

  “Don’t bother anyone else. The only female alone here is Jessie Dupree and you said she is fine.”

  “Did you hurt yourself when you broke the chair, Justice? I could call for someone to come look at it.”

  Justice shook his head, swimming toward the side of the pool. “I’m fine. It just pissed me off.”

  The men hesitated. Justice climbed out of the pool and walked to a towel he’d thrown over a lounge chair days before. He wrapped it around his hips and arched an eyebrow when he faced them.

  “Is there anything else?”

  “Why is a human female living here? We don’t question your judgment but we are curious, Justice.”

  “This is the most secure area of Homeland. Her father is someone who watches out for us and works through legal issues on our behalf. I gave my word to him that she would be kept safe. She’s also saved our females and brought them to us as her last job. Jessie Dupree is a trusted friend.”

  One of them spoke. “We understand. Thank you for explaining it.”

  Justice waited until they were gone before he shook his wet hair, trying to dry off some. He turned to peer over the wall to the house next door. Jessie’s bedroom light remained on. He longed to hop the wall and knock on her window.

  Frustration gripped him as he turned away. Wanting and doing had to be different things in her case. He’d lost control, drawn blood sharing sex and had attracted attention to them being together by roaring out his pleasure. That disturbed him deeply, it was something he’d never done before with a female. She brought out sides of him that he couldn’t allow free. Period.

  He needed to think, to clear his head and stay away from her until he could figure out how to leash the frightening emotions she stirred in him. He only knew one thing for certain…

  Jessie Dupree was driving him insane.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Breeze!” Jessie grinned. “You’re here at the women’s dorm! Why aren’t you still at Reservation?”

  The six-foot-plus woman grinned. “I arrived early this morning. My best friend Ellie wanted me to come home to share some news and I’ll be here for a while. She is human and married Fury, who is Species.”

  “I’ve heard of them—on TV when they got married. I hope it was good news?”

  “The best. I’m sorry but I can’t share what it is. All I can say is her and her husband wanted something since they found love together and they finally accomplished it.”

  “That is good news.”

  “What are you doing here? Are you checking up on the woman you brought to us? They are still at Reservation and are doing fine. They have settled well. It was decided they should stay there instead of being brought here since they are enjoying the trees and the miles of land to roam.”

  “Actually, I work here now. It’s a long story.”

  Breeze’s eyes widened. “Truly? Doing what?”

  Jessie turned her head to glance at Beauty. She’d spent the morning and most of the afternoon helping her get settled in the women’s dorm. She’d taken the move well for the most part.

  Tiny and Halfpint were Beauty’s constant companions, which helped. The only bump in the nearly smooth transition had been when Beauty had seen the much taller, strongly built females. They had frightened her, but she currently sat in the living room talking with half a dozen of them without fear.

  “That’s Beauty. We recovered her night before last from an estate up in Washington. I don’t know all that my new job entails but for right now it’s helping her to adjust to her new life. She’s taking it well.”

  “I like her name. It fits. She chose well.” Breeze smiled and gave her attention back to Jessie.

  “Actually, I chose it. I keep telling her that she can change it at any time and I’m hoping she will. I feel kind of weird naming an adult.” Jessie shrugged. “I needed to make up one fast and that’s all that came to mind.”

  “Why did you need to name her?”

  Jessie clenched her teeth. “Because the only two names she could remember being called pissed me off so bad I refused to let anyone else ever call her that. We have to do paperwork and it will stick with her on record. I refused to record those names.”

  Breeze’s face hardened. “What did they call her?”

  Jessie stared at the taller woman. “I really don’t think you want to know.”

  “Tell me.”

  Jessie sighed, figuring Breeze had a right to know. “They were calling her Mud and I guess tagged her with Monkey when she was younger. Those were the only two names she could remember.”

  The tall New Species woman growled and spit out a string of curses that would have made a lifelong sailor blush. Jessie nodded in agreement. The two women stared at each other until Breeze’s anger faded.

  “Thank you. It is a really good name you chose and it suits her. I think she might keep it and you did her a good favor.”

  “Thanks.” Jessie smiled suddenly. “So, are you looking forward to getting some decent sleep now that you’re out of the hotel?”

  Breeze laughed. “They sent Tammy and Valiant to his house for good. Justice said they need their privacy since they are married now. He has guards around their property to help Valiant keep her safe. Maybe it’s a human and Species thing but no one ever has sex as loudly as those two.”

  Jessie managed to keep her smile in place—barely—remembering the night before. She and Justice had been so loud they’d set off the security alarm. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.” Breeze led her into the kitchen to grab sodas from the fridge. She waved Jessie to a barstool. “Hit me! I love that saying.”

  Jessie took a seat next to her. “The mixed couple that just got married, uh, he’s lion, right?”

  “We believe so. We mostly guess at what we were mixed with since the records were destroyed. With his coloring and his personality we can assume he was mixed with that DNA. What about him?”

  “I met Justice North and he has the same kind of eyes as Valiant. Is he lion?” That would explain the roar after sex.

  “His coloring is not right. In my free time I’m studying animals. I wanted to guess better what some of us were changed with.” Breeze looked proud. “I think he is perhaps mixed with black leopard—humans call them panthers.”

  Jessie managed to keep her mouth from falling open despite her shock. “Wouldn’t his hair be black? I mean, Valiant has orange-red hair similar to a lion. I met Flame and he has light red hair but he’s got the cat eyes. I could see that right off.”

  Breeze bit her lip. “I can’t discuss this with you, Jessie.”

  “Why not?”

  Breeze hesitated again but blew out a breath. “You are a friend to us and save our women. I know you can be trusted. Some of us color our hair. That’s all I’m saying.”

  Justice colors his hair? It explained why he looked different in person than on television and in some of the photos in the paper. He looked different because his hair color varied.

  “Why would he…I mean, any of you do that?”

  “Some of us need to appear more human but our natural col
oring sometimes make that difficult. Please don’t repeat this to anyone. I could get in trouble.”

  “I won’t tell a soul. You have my word on that. So as an example, someone with blonde hair could really have black hair?”

  “Exactly. It would make one look more human and less threatening.”

  Someone in the public eye. Someone who deals with humans all the time. Jessie tried to imagine Justice with black hair but it was hard to do. It suddenly explained why his long eyelashes were black. Sometimes she saw a little dark blue in the depths of his eyes but from a distance they appeared the darkest shade of brown ever, bordering on black. With black hair he would look… An image flashed inside her head of Justice with black hair. Frightening. Scary. ferocious. Justice with light hair did look more human and less likely to scare someone. It makes sense.

  Jessie had slept with a man changed with panther DNA. It explained the purring, the catlike eyes and his roaring after sex. He’d shredded the bedding and scored the mattress with his nails. Claws. Panthers were dangerous animals. Maybe he has good reason to fear hurting me.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  Jessie pulled her attention from her thoughts to force a smile for Breeze. “A man.”

  A grin split Breeze’s face. “Spill, girlfriend.”

  Jessie shook her head. “I can’t.”

  “Oh. You are asking about our men for a reason, are you not? I heard that Flame was talking about you. He is feline and that is why you were asking about Valiant, is it not? You did slip and mention his name. I swear I won’t say a word to anyone. Flame is attractive and easy on the eyes. He has a good sense of fun too.”

  Flame? Jessie didn’t know if she should be relieved at Breeze’s assumption. It beat her correctly guessing that Jessie was thinking about Justice. Jessie just smiled.

  “Flame likes you. I heard that you made an impression on him.”

  “You heard that? He offered to buy me a beer and introduce me around so I could make some friends.”

  “You should let him.”

  “There’s that whole I’m-human-and-he’s-Species thing going on.”

  The smile on Breeze’s lips disappeared. “You would not be with one of my kind?”

  “It’s not that.” She bit her lip, careful of what she said. “I was talking to a few of your males once,” she lied, making up a scenario that would fit her real dilemma. “They kind of made it clear that they wouldn’t sleep with a human female. He, I mean, they said they wouldn’t want to get involved with a human and were adamant about how they’d be too afraid to lose control and hurt her.”

  “It is a valid fear. Our men are strong and they dominate. Do you know about this?”

  “Most men are bossy. That’s a universal trait that comes with having a dick.”

  Breeze didn’t laugh at Jessie’s attempted humor. “No. Your men tell women what to do because they just want to do it. Our men dominate physically and need to do it. There’s a big difference.”

  “Could you explain it to me? I’m really curious.”

  “When a male and female of our kind share sex they mount us from behind. He will use his teeth at our shoulder to keep us still if he feels his dominance is threatened. Their need to be in control during sex is overpowering. It is hard to describe but there is a spot on either side here…” She reached up and touched her shoulders. “If a male grips us with his teeth it feels really good and doesn’t hurt. They never break the skin but we know better than to pull away or accidents could happen.”

  Jessie had a sinking feeling—she had a bandage hiding under her shirt. “What kind of accidents?”

  “Their teeth will sink in just enough to draw blood or they could scar our skin. It is rare but I had a male take my blood once. He killed one of the technicians when he came to remove me from his cell after we shared sex. He did not want to let me go or share me with other males. He was very possessive. He had love for me and I guess he bit me to show dominance and that I was his, perhaps to mark me, because I didn’t try to challenge him during sex. He said his insides were screaming that he keep me and they know that we don’t want to be kept. It is why we don’t have sex with the same male often now that we are free. We want to make sure they remember that we don’t want to be kept by them and it lets them know not to feel possessive of us. Our men could be dangerous to your kind.”

  “Why would any of that be dangerous to humans?”

  “When our males clamp their teeth down you don’t know not to struggle or jerk away. He could go crazy if you did. We make sure we want to breed together and it has to be totally mutual when we do. If a male was behind you and bit your skin hard, wouldn’t that alarm you? You would fight, wouldn’t you? Struggle? His teeth are sharp and could tear your skin or his hands could hurt you, trying to hold you still for your own safety. They can be gentle and pleasing but if you were to challenge his dominance during sex, he would feel the uncontrollable urge to prove he is worthy. It is a need. It is what they are. If you let one of our males have sex with you often he might want to keep you if he began to feel possessive. A Species male would not let you go if that happened, would fight to keep you and kill anyone who tried to take you from him. He might feel love if you allow him to know you too well and that is very dangerous in our kind.”

  “It can’t be too dangerous. There are mixed couples.”

  “Yes, but the males would kill anyone who touched one of their mates. You met Tammy and Valiant. He doesn’t like other males to look at her. She willingly submits to him and has given herself to him totally but they share love. Valiant would tear someone apart with his bare hands if he thought she was threatened, Jessie. That is the danger with our men and we had to consider what would happen if one of them had love for a woman who didn’t return it. He’d never hurt her but we think any male who tried to touch her would lose a body part. I understand the fear our kind feels for sex with humans and it is reasonable. If you do decide to have sex with Flame, I need to school you first so you know how to handle one of our males safely.”

  Jessie wasn’t sure she wanted the answer but still asked the question. “What would I need to know?”

  “Never ask a male to submit to you. They are dominant and it would make them angry and dangerous if you were to do that. To them it would be a challenge. You are questioning their abilities. Males are always in control of sex. Don’t struggle during sex if Flame ever grips you with his teeth. It means he is losing control and you need to hold still.”

  “Is losing control a bad thing?”

  “Yes!” Breeze jerked her gaze down Jessie’s body, giving her a once-over. “He’d break you. Our males are strong and our idea of foreplay would be rough wrestling to you.”

  “Okay,” she got out, stunned again.

  “Never stare into the eyes of an angry male because that is challenging too. Look down and hold still until they have time to calm their anger. Also, never allow him to share sex with you if he is really aroused because they can be aggressive to match their needs. You say no if Flame ever has the desire to bite you and take your blood during sex. It would let him feel he possesses you and you never want that with one of our males unless you are prepared to be stuck with him forever.”

  “I think I got it. Thanks. Please forget about the name Flame, okay? I’m not considering sleeping with him. I was just curious.”

  Breeze grinned. “Sure.”

  The other woman didn’t believe her but Jessie let it slide as she stood. “It’s been a long day and I’m going home. I’ll check on Beauty first and make sure she’s all right with me leaving. I’m glad you’re here and we’ll get to see each other more.”

  “I will say hello to her and look out for her while you’re gone. You can just go and get some rest. Will you be back here tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  Jessie left the dorm, her mind dwelling on all she’d learned. According to Breeze’s advice on what not to do in bed with a Species male, she’d already r
eally screwed up. She’d asked Justice to let her be on top, which had challenged him. His reaction had been to nearly walk out of the bedroom and end their encounter. Breeze said they’d never allow a woman to dominate the sex in bed but Justice had when she’d gotten to be on top. She had no idea what to make of that except maybe he wasn’t as set in his ways as most Species since he had to deal with so many humans daily. Humans worked at Homeland and he had to communicate with the media, her father and a lot of other people who were invested in the well-being of Species.

  She’d felt Justice’s teeth on her shoulder but she hadn’t known what it meant. She’d ignored his plea for her to hold still, unwittingly provoking him try to assert his dominance. She’d moved against him, pushed him to take her the way she wanted and he’d bitten her shoulder hard enough to draw blood. That was another no-no. Of course he didn’t want to keep her forever. Nope. He wanted to end their brief relationship before it had a chance to get off the ground.

  No wonder he doesn’t want to see me again. Depression hit hard as Jessie drove her golf cart home. Earlier that day she’d woken to find one parked in her driveway with a marked map from her home to the women’s dorm. The officer posted at the gates to her housing tract had assured her it was for her use. She had a way to get around Homeland but had nowhere to go but to her lonely house.

  A new officer manned the security checkpoint but he didn’t stop her. He grinned and waved her through as he opened the gates that led into the housing area. Jessie waved back and parked in her driveway. She couldn’t get over how deeply she’d managed to screw up with Justice. Species should come with a handbook titled Dating for the Clueless human chicks and fifty things to avoid doing that will insult them.

  She unlocked her front door, glad as she entered that the perfume had finally disappeared. Her gaze darted to the potted plant to her immediate left and she smiled. She’d hidden the bottle there in case she ever needed to mask Justice’s scent again. Her mood quickly deflated since she highly doubted he’d be back.

  A quick shower, a change into comfortable clothes and an urge to occupy her time in the kitchen helped keep her thoughts off Justice. She enjoyed cooking, it relaxed her and she loved to eat. The only problem was the tri-tip she had put in the rotisserie cooker would feed her for a week in leftover sandwiches. She bit her lip, watched it slowly turn as it dripped juices into the drip pan and decided she could always take sandwiches to the women at the dorm tomorrow.